08-06-2013, 01:58 PM
It's a strange tradition to wait so long after graduation. I prefer the way many college basketball programs do it: retire the numbers for seniors on the last home game of their senior year. Stanford should avoid even giving the appearance of tying the the recognition to the player's pro career. The number is being retired at Stanford for the player's accomplishments at Stanford.
I also don't love the idea of having this done at a high profile game like the one against the Ducks. Will it be at half time? What if there the game is a blow out in favor of the Ducks? What if there are a ton of Ducks fans in the stand who opt to boo Elway? Maybe having Elway in the locker room will inspire the troops and give them that extra 3% of performance to put them over the top. But there's more down side than upside, IMO.
I hope they retire Toby's #7 down the line as well and I don't think retiring Elway's #7 precludes that. I'm sure the AD has discussed the issue. But it does make it awkward. But if Toby's career trajectory in the NFL doesn't change (ie, improve significantly), do we end up not seeing Toby's number retired? His accomplishments on the Farm are certainly deserving.
I also don't love the idea of having this done at a high profile game like the one against the Ducks. Will it be at half time? What if there the game is a blow out in favor of the Ducks? What if there are a ton of Ducks fans in the stand who opt to boo Elway? Maybe having Elway in the locker room will inspire the troops and give them that extra 3% of performance to put them over the top. But there's more down side than upside, IMO.
I hope they retire Toby's #7 down the line as well and I don't think retiring Elway's #7 precludes that. I'm sure the AD has discussed the issue. But it does make it awkward. But if Toby's career trajectory in the NFL doesn't change (ie, improve significantly), do we end up not seeing Toby's number retired? His accomplishments on the Farm are certainly deserving.